Tongue in my palm

My name is Patrick, a 10 year old boy. I stay near the woods in White Mountain village. I have only my dad as my mother died when I was a born. I had planned to go on a hike in the woods on that day with my dog cleaver. It was a bernese mountain dog. He has been my pal for as long as I remember.

My dad used to caution me from going to the west side of the mountains as old timers in the village had spoken of a old hag who used to live there.. I being an adventurous sort would put my Ego over my dad word on most times. This time it was not any different. Would I be scared out of by a kid story. Nah….

As I was hiking through the woods I saw a solitary path which goes through the woods on the west side of the mountains. The same west side which i was asked not to venture. After treading on this path for good half hour, I came upon an old rickety barn house which was covered with twines and ivy all over. The dark house was pretty weather beaten and looked eerie and I could not see anyone near it. Cleaver started barking viciously and was prancing towards the house and returning back to me.

“What is it cleaver old boy…Don’t spook me here now”, I said.

He was not in a mood to venture any further. As the sun was setting down and the barn house was surrounded by woods, it started becoming night early. Cleaver was pulling my pants and nudging me to return back. But I wanted to see who stayed in the house as I could see a light glowing through the window.

Just then I saw a black silhouetted figure standing near the window. My heart skipped a beat and I was sweating profusely. To check who that was I trudged on towards the house. When I was near the barnhourse that dark figure was no more near the window.

something was pulling me to the barnhouse to checkout on the guy in that house although on the back of my mind I was thinking to return back to my village. I could literally hear my heart pounding in my ears. I reasoned it could be the occupant of the barnhouse and i was getting frightened for no reason. The door was slightly ajar and I went in the house cleaver following me. I could see the light dimming as a steely wave of wind flew through the house.

“Hello, Is anybody there.. Hey Mister whoever you are I saw you by the window.” I said.

.All I got was a stony silence. I saw a old lantern on the lone desk in the center of the room. Seeing no one there in the room. I trudged back. But I didn’t see a box in the dim light and tripped and fell.

My hand got smeared with some slimy oily substance on the box. I didn’t want to soil my dress by wiping my palm on it, so I tried to wipe the substance on the floor and also on the desk but it was not going away. I threw the box in a corner in anger and hurriedly walked away. Just at that moment I heard an ear shattering hysterical laughter echoing through the room.

But I could not see anyone in the room though. The laughter was resonating all over the room. I started to run back through the door. The laughter continued from the house and as there was darkness all around. I had to use whatever moon light that penetrated the densely stacked woods in that forest to guide me from this god forsaken place.

“Cleaver, Lets get the hell outta here”, I said.

The laughter was now getting weaker as I went far from the barn house. After half hour of frantic running and getting scratches all over my legs as there were prickly bushes all over the path, I could see my village in a distant. I heaved a sigh of relief.

Finally after eternity I reached my house. No one was there in my house. That was strange as my dad used to be back before dusk. With all the day’s escapades I started feeling sleepy and hit the sack.

In the middle of the night I woke up and at that moment I had itchy feeling in my palm. When I looked my palm I was shocked to see a crack forming in my palm slowly. Whatever slimy substance that I had touched upon might have caused .it. The slimy substance was no more there but the itchiness was slowly getting replaced by excruciating pain all over my palm and I was flabbergasted to see a tiny worm like creature coming out of the crack in my palm.

The pain subsidized but to my shock I saw that it was no more a worm but was a two forked tongue which was writhing on my palm. I started crying and looked for my dad.. He was nowhere to be seen. At that moment I saw the dark figure towering over my bed and the same eerie cackling laughter was now resonating in my bedroom instead of the barn house in the woods.

I started shivering and saw a skeleton hand out of nowhere come from the wall next to the dark figure and was beckoning me to come along. The tongue was writhing over my palm and slimy liquid was flowing all over my hand and the whole room was filled with a stench that made me puke.

The cackling laughter grew by the second as I started shivering and crying out loud. The dark figure now started to cry hysterically to sync with my crying.

At that moment a bright light shone and a hand touched my head and I woke up. It was my dad. Frantically I checked my palm and I didn’t see any tongue on my palm. I hugged my dad and told him what had happened.

He gave a reassuring look and told I had a nightmare. I saw Cleaver woofing playfully. Darn that was one hell of a dream I had. It seemed that I had never went to the woods or hiked through the forest and all of this was a spooky dream.. That will be the last of my adventure to the woods on the west side of White Mountain.